Inferno
by Another Damn Author
Summary: As he looked into those dark eyes, eyes filled with hate, Naruto saw that they weren't devoid of compassion. He saw in front of him not Sasuke the Avenger, but Sasuke, a person he could trust...a friend.
1. Prologue

_**Inferno : **_

** I was angry with my friend:**  
**I told my wrath, my wrath did end.**  
**I was angry with my foe:**  
**I told it not, my wrath did grow.**

**And I watered it in fears**  
**Night and morning with my tears,**  
**And I sunned it with smiles**  
**And with soft deceitful wiles.**

**And it grew both day and night,**  
**Till it bore an apple bright,**  
**And my foe beheld it shine,**  
**And he knew that it was mine -**

**And into my garden stole**  
**When the night had veiled the pole;**  
**In the morning, glad, I see**  
**My foe outstretched beneath the tree.**

**-A Poison Tree - William Blake.**

_**Prologue :**_

There was a cool breeze blowing as she looked to the heavens, her red hair blowing in the wind. "Look at the sun, Naruto-chan. See how bright and yellow it is….just like your hair. Your eyes…it's as if they mirror the sky."

The child gurgled in her arms, not more than a few days old. Kushina smiled and gently rocked him in her arms. A slight movement in front of her compelled her to look up. She perceived a lady carrying a child.

"How are you today, Kushina? Your face is positively glowing!"

"You know me Mikoto, I simply go head over heels when Naruto smiles."

Uchiha Mikoto laughed as she gently sat down beside Kushina.

"Sasuke spoke his first words today, didn't you Sasuke?"

"How lovely! Was it kaa-chan?"

"No, it was onee-"

"He loves his brother dearly, doesn't he?"

"He certainly does…"

A gentle gust of wind blew a few dried leaves into the air...they swirled around, struggling for their freedom. Suddenly Naruto started kicking about….he tried to peep into Mikoto's arms.

"See there Naruto, it's your friend Sasuke," said Kushina. Naruto laughed and tugged at Kushina's hair.

Sasuke gazed at Naruto. After a while he smiled.

"Kushina….!"

"There's Minato…. I'm sure he needs my help in the kitchen again…. men," Kushina shook her head and sighed,

"When will I ever get to spend time with you, little Naruto, if your father can't cook a simple meal?"

Kushina got up to leave when Mikoto called out to her,"I'm sure they'll be great friends, Kushina."

Kushina smiled at her. "I'm sure they will."

Mikoto turned around and followed her way home. The red haired lady stood at her door for a moment before returning to her husband (who'd probably burnt their lunch by now and was frantically trying to repair any damage) and took a last look at the sky.

'_Brilliant blue…clear as crystal.'_ She smiled to herself.

"…I'm sure they will…"

* * *

It was dark in the prep-room. It was more like a cellar with a ramp leading to a massive trap-door that shut the world out.

"Are you ready to face death?" Sasuke's expression was fixed as he turned towards Naruto. The door in front of them grated open. A narrow shaft of light sliced through the darkness and started to grow… slowly revealing a sandy expanse in front of them. The pink-haired girl next to him nodded with a grim expression on her face.

She turned to her right and saw a boy draw a kunai from a pouch bandaged to his right leg. Twirling the kunai on his middle finger, Naruto turned to Sasuke with a smile on his face. He tossed the blade into the air and caught its handle in his palm, enjoying the coarse grip.

"I was born ready!"

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Hope you liked what you read.**

**This is my first fanfic. I was inspired to write by SomeDamn Author who is a great friend of mine, hence the name.**

**I will upload the next chapter in a few days... it is relatively a lot longer than this, so will take a bit of time to complete.**

**Please review! I know I haven't written much and probably don't deserve them, but please spare some time to let me know what you think.**

**Speak your heart out... if you love it, hate it, or simply have a few questions on your mind.**

**I'll get back to you on the next chapter.**

**Until then!**


	2. Return and A Bedtime Story (Part 1)

**Chapter 1: Return and a Bedtime Story (Part 1) Edit : June 27th 2014**

"Ah!" sighed Naruto, as he slipped under his sheets, enjoying the warmth underneath. It had been a tiring journey and he was glad to get some shut-eye.

"This is bliss!" he thought to himself, "To think that pervy-sage made me sleep in a bed roll!

All in the name of training… ha! He just wanted the softer bed…and the food…you can't have measly rice cakes after training, you need real food…you need…mmmm…"

Let me take you back 3 years while our hero dreams of steaming bowls of ramen (spicy pork miso, obviously)…

* * *

…It was a cold morning and Naruto had unwillingly risen at six.

"Kakashi-sensei had said that he had something important to tell us. I'd better not be late."

"Hey! Sakura-chan, wait up!"

"Hello Naruto, quite chilly, huh?"

"Yeah! I wonder what Kakshi-sensei has in store for us. I bet it's a super dangerous A-rank mission!"

"I highly doubt that." Sakura replied sleepily.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" Sakura called out in her sweetest voice…

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn" came the nonchalant reply.

"Naruto and I were just pondering over the reason for Kakashi-sensei's strange summons.

What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

"We'll know when we know."

"Man! Why does he have to be so cold…has the weather rubbed off on him? "Naruto grumbled.

* * *

The trio trudged on with Naruto and Sakura having an animated conversation and Sasuke walking in silence. They made their way to a creek with a bridge running

across it.

"…if not, then he want us to be the Hokage's personal body-guards!"

"That suggestion is so stupid-"Sakura paused…

"Where is Kakashi-sensei?"

* * *

An hour or so later…

Sakura sat dejectedly on the cobble-stone path. Sasuke leaned his back onto the railing of the bridge and closed his eyes. Naruto, on the other hand seated himself on the railing and proceeded to throw pebbles into the water.

"Hey there! Sorry I'm slightly late…"

"Slightly?! We waited here for more than an hour!" yelled Sakura.

"I woke up at six a.m.! Six a.m.! Who on earth gets out of bed before eight on a Sunday?!" added Naruto.

"What's your excuse this time?"

"Well, uh, a pretty girl came along as I made my way…she seemed down and wanted to dance…obviously I couldn't refuse, so…"Kakashi said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"LIES!" said Naruto and Sakura in unison.

"Anyway, do you want to know why I called you here?"

"Yes…" sulked Naruto.

"I called you here to announce the start of the Chunin Exams."

"The chunin exams?" asked Sakura.

The sun came out and shone brightly.

"Every genin who aspires to be a Chunin must pass the Chunin Exams," explained Kakashi.

"Alright! I finally get to show everyone how great I am!" exclaimed Naruto.

"However," continued Kakashi darkly, "there is the risk of imminent death as the exams will test you to your limits. You will encounter things you never faced before…this is the real world."

Suddenly the air seemed to get colder.

"Great! Way to ruin the mood Kakashi-sensei." said Naruto.

"This is nothing...a mere stepping stone to what I have to achieve…I'm in." said Sasuke,

"What about you Naruto, are you too scared…scaredy cat…" he went on with a scornful smile.

"Hey! I can do anything that you can…of course I'm in… let's see who really is scared!" Naruto exclaimed.

"And you Sakura…what have you decided?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, if the others are taking it…"

"There is no pressure…you don't have to take it if you are not ready…take your time to decide."

"No, I've decided…I will take part. I've had Sasuke and Naruto protect me all along…I have to prove myself to the world…to myself. If I don't do it now, I will never have the courage to do it ever again…so, yes I will take part in the Chunin Exams!"

Kakashi's eye twinkled as he smiled warmly.

"I am proud of you, Sakura."

The girl blushed with delight.

"So that's that." he said, "Before you leave I have one last thing to tell you…"

The three of them leaned forward in anticipation.

"… don't be late tomorrow."

It took all of Sasuke's strength to hold back Naruto and Sakura as they tried to decapitate Kakashi. The man walked off, book in one hand and the other dug into his pocket as Naruto yelled at him. A gentle smile played on his lips.

"Where was I…Ah! Yes… '…so does Asuna clean Kirito's sword?"

* * *

He lay on his bed…listless. He thought of all the time he had spent with his friends. The times they skipped Iruka-sensei's class and just lazed around in the woods. How they had races to see who the fastest of them was while he kept time (Kiba always won). And how Choji showed the others that he knew wind-style jutsu by sucking a stack of potato chips off a log and eating them in one go.

Shikamaru sighed. He lifted himself off the bed with some effort.

"What a drag…" he muttered to himself.

Soon he met up with Ino and Choji and made his way to the building where the exam was to take place. He heard Naruto call out to him and Choji.

"So, you guys decided to take the exam as well?" said Shikamaru.

"You bet we did!" came the reply. He watched Ino vying for Sasuke's attention and Sakura glare at her, ready to pounce.

His head almost exploded trying to comprehend women.

"They have this false sense of belonging when it comes to good looking guys…or is it anything they like…or…forget it, what a drag." He looked knowingly at Sasuke who shook his head with a similar look on his face.

"Now, there is a girl who doesn't battle-cry her affections like these two," he thought as he saw a dark haired girl walk through the doorway, "Hinata should really talk to Naruto more." Kiba and Shino walked beside her. Soon after, Shikamaru heard the footfalls of Neji, Lee and Ten-Ten.

"So, finally, everyone is here."

Just then one of the Chunin posted there yelled at them.

"Hey! You guys at the back! Keep it down!"

Everyone turned to look at them as they turned to look at the source.

"Oh my! There are so many people here!" said Sakura, slightly alarmed.

The group hadn't noticed the number of people that were around them, let alone the number staring at were _shinobi_ from different parts. Three in particular stood out from the rest. The one in the middle had red hair. Slung across his back was a large gourd. He didn't seem particularly tough to Shikamaru, but there was something unnerving about his eyes…like as if they had witnessed death...and enjoyed it.

Shikamaru was strongly reminded of Sasuke. The subject under study was flanked by two people. The one on his right had paint on his face. He wore a black, full body suit and his face was covered with a hood. He had a large mysterious object strapped to his back. It was covered in bandages. To the red-head's left stood a blond girl, her hair bunched up into four pony-tails. Her arm supported a large fan. She seemed strikingly pretty, he thought as he looked up at her face. He found himself turning pink as her teal eyes met his gaze. Suddenly he heard someone speak very loudly. He tore his eyes away... half gladly, half reluctant...

"Oh yeah! I love competition…" said Naruto as he saw the crowd around him.

"Oi! Listen up! I am Uzumaki Naruto…" he yelled at the others, pointing his thumb at his chest," …and I'm going to belt your sorry asses to next week."

He got a lot of dirty looks from the other contenders. A few of them yelled that he would be going home in a meat sack.

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sasuke and Sakura hissed at him together, "You will be the death of us!"

"That guy is so hot headed!" thought Shikamaru, "Then again, he just wouldn't be the same if he wasn't…" he smiled to himself.

Just then a Chunin appeared and noted everyone's names, registering for the exam. He informed them that the first exam would be a written one. Shikamaru saw Naruto's face sink

"Shit! I'm screwed!" said Naruto. Sakura smiled nervously. Shikamaru chuckled to himself, "Well, a written exam is not exactly his forte'… "

He clapped him on the shoulder," Naruto… good luck!"

The Chunin asked them to follow him into a room. Pale walls surrounded them, laced with a deafening silence that threatened to swallow them whole. They faced a large man with an imposing figure...a piercing contrast to the sour cream walls. He had scars running across his face and a general aura of terror around him that sent a shiver down Shikamaru's spine. The man looked at the genins and asked them to take their respective seats (which was determined with a special number given to each while registering).

"My name is Morino Ibiki, "he announced,

"and I will be your Proctor for the first exam."

* * *

**Hey there again!  
**

**I wanted to complete the whole of the Chunin exams in this chapter, but it would take too long.**

**So, I split it into parts. The next chapter will have the Exams and a bit of the present.  
**

**Most of the Exams will be the same, except for a small change that will greatly affect the outcome.**

**I hope you enjoyed it so far.**

**Please review!**

**Until next time!**


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